Tag: Vision

Here in Dar es Salaam, actually let me be more specific. Here in Masaki I have found a favorite trail to run on that is along the cliff lined coastline. It’s a beautiful stretch that reminds me how lucky I am to live in this amazing community on the coast of Tanzania. The trail is a bit tricky to maneuver with coral rock, cacti and the edge of the cliff. I find myself looking down and really focusing on where to land next. The coral rock doesn’t give when I land like a normal dirt trail might. On this stretch of my run my pace slows dramatically. I’m worried about falling, twisting an ankle, getting stuck by a spine or falling off the edge.

I find that I miss out on the view of the ocean and every so often I have to stop to look out to the horizon. There are Dhow fishing boats floating alongside large cargo ships and the water is bright green or blue.

The other day I realized that this is a metaphor for my most recent transition into a new job. In August, I started a new job as the Secondary Principal at the International School of Tanganyika. The move was a return to international schools after a brief two year stint in the United States. After 14 years of working in international schools I thought that my transition would be relatively easy. What I realized is that I have to really pay attention to the details rather than focusing on where we’re going in the future.The rocky path represents my efforts getting to know peoples’ names, reading the handbook, asking questions about how things work and the cultural norms. There is so much to learn in a new environment and I’m also a bit nervous about making mistakes especially since I haven’t been around long enough to build up the emotional bank account. I feel like early mistakes may lead to issues that are difficult to overcome. Just like a mistake on the trail.

The ocean and horizon represents looking to the future and seeing the big picture. The path is enjoyable, but it would just be any old path without the ocean view. The possibilities that are out there are immense, especially considering that what’s on the surface and below the waterline. By looking out on the horizon we can envision what the school will be like in the future, instead of the current situation. There is also the opportunity to take time to scan the horizon and consider what is possible. Maybe we decide to renovate the trail to better fit our vision.

I am hoping that the more time that I spend running that trail, the more comfortable I’ll become glancing out to the ocean. Hopefully I will develop muscle memory and my feet will just naturally adjust to the rock variations. I’ll also know at which points along the trail that I’ll have to watch out for the cacti and cliffs. The rest of the time I can comfortably run and enjoy the view of the Indian Ocean. Maybe then, I’ll feel like the transition is over and there will be a healthy mix of the day to day and planning for the future.

When you come to visit I’ll take you out on the trail to see for yourself.

Last year we adopted a Manifesto which describes our purpose and will soon guide our strategic plan. As an educator who strives to transform education, I find it to be inspirational. The Mount Vernon Presbyterian School Manifesto states:

Education is changing.

We live amidst a fundamental reordering of how we think about school: from the centuries-old belief that content knowledge is its central currency, to the nascent understanding that what you know matters less than who you are, and what you are uniquely capable of impacting.

Across the country, communities and schools are beginning to test this shift in myriad ways. But overall, educators, parents and community leaders are still in search of a well-lighted path that can illuminate what the future of education will actually need to look like — and require.

A way forward has already been envisioned: the Mount Vernon Continuum. More than perhaps any other school, Mount Vernon understands what the chemistry of a great school requires:

A clear and compelling organizational mission.

Cultural norms that invite people to step outside of their comfort zone.

People-centered design principles that guide teaching and learning.

And six timeless, significant habits of mind.

To continue to set the conditions for learners to excel in college, career, and citizenship, there is still much work to be done. As a school of inquiry, innovation, and impact, we see three key essential questions guiding our future work:

How might we make school more reflective of real life?

We choose to engage and explore all scales of community. We welcome the chance to live at the edges where disciplines mingle in search of maximum impact. We want our school to be a destination for anyone who wishes to design a better world. We want our school to create intermingling rivers of connection between people, ideas, and sectors. We want our school to embody a new notion of what “school” is and does.

How might we empower all learners to be seekers and explorers?

We choose to wander and to wonder. We seek to create a learning environment that invites all people to follow the sparks of motivation, interest and curiosity as far as they can take them. We seek to provide paths of faith and curiosity. We seek to nurture experiences of deep purpose and joyful play. We seek to model living, learning mindsets that constantly adapt and expand.

How might we inspire one another — and the larger world — through the work we undertake together?

We choose to make our thinking visible and actionable. We envision learning in which children are seen and heard. We envision transparency in the learning journey — process, product, and progress. We welcome the chance to wrestle with voices and perspectives that challenge our assumptions. We envision learning in which our trust for each other strengthens our sense of individual freedom, autonomy, and interdependence.

We choose to graduate learners and leaders who are “impact-ready.”

We choose to experiment with extraordinary ideas that might one day become the norm. We will not just build a roadmap for future generations of MVPS students and families; Mount Vernon will continue to carve a path for the future of learning itself.

The City of Atlanta has big plans for the future especially since they are projecting 2.5 million new residents over the next 25 years. The city has created a comprehensive development plan and one of the ways that they are increasing awareness and gathering information from Atlanta residents is through their new Atlanta City Studio. The lab has a variety of displays, many of which are interactive. This pop-up lab will be at Ponce City Market for 6 months and then move to another area of the city. During my visit I was greeted by a staff member who took me on a tour and explained all that the projects on display and the process they are using to engage with the Atlanta community.

The goals for the urban design studio space are to:

through a shared vision for vibrant urbanism, raise awareness about urban design and plan for a better Atlanta…one that will continue to advance Atlanta’s people and places;

create urban design policies and enhance design sustainability and livability for the city;

direct urban design services on projects throughout the city;

spark urban interaction amongst people who visit our city and those who live here;

engage residents and stakeholders in identifying goals for the City of Atlanta and create a new narrative;

enhance the socioeconomic, ecological and sustainable urban design form for the city.

My visit there this weekend got me thinking about how we could use a space like this at Mount Vernon Presbyterian School. My first thought was that we can use it to gather information from our community that will guide us in our strategic planning process and to share information on our academic program. The space can also be used with prospective families who are thinking of attending your school. Visitors can maneuver on their own or be shepherded through by faculty members, students, parent volunteers or administrators. Take a look at what #ATL City Studio has and how your school can benefit from a pop-up lab.

Bike Network Plans

Explaining Ideas and Asking Questions

Imagine a student showing these panels to parents and having a conversation on the topic. Any community member who serves in a host role will have to truly understand these ideas and what they mean for the school.

Visitors can provide feedback by answering strategic questionsThis interactive model allows visitors to redesign city blocks.Younger children can also participateA meeting space for small groupsAnd a work plan with markers on glass. (These are really trendy now)

For some reason I have had the good fortune of being influenced by some brilliant, talented and dedicated individuals these past few months. While I’ve only scratched the surface of their work, I find their work to be inspirational. Our students, at Mount Vernon Presbyterian School have been fortunate to hear Jeff Shinabarger, Kitti Murray, and Terence Lester tell their stories. Jeff is the founder of Plywood People, which is here in Atlanta, and Kitti and Terence have worked closely with Jeff to build their organizations. My wife and I were fortunate to meet met Len and Georgia Morris this summer while we were visiting Martha’s Vineyard. All are passionate and impactful “engaged citizen leaders”.

Jeff Shinabarger spoke at the Class of 2016 Graduation Ceremony and each member of the graduating class received a copy of his book, More or Less, Choosing a Lifestyle of Excessive Generosity. I love their slogan, “Better is Possible”. After reading Jeff’s book I am conducting an experiment to determine “what is enough in your [my] life.” My three takeaways from the book were:

We can lead richer and fulfilling lives if we determine what is essential for our living.

“The good life is not found in luxury; rather it is found in a life that enhances the life of another human.””

I must continue to develop an understanding of individuals who are different than me. I must walk in their shoes. This understanding can totally change my mindset.

Kitti Murray is a social entrepreneur and the founder of Refuge Coffee. She spoke to our students earlier in the year and Kitti and her team participated on this year’s fuse16 conference. After working with Kitti’s team to develop solutions to how they can better integrate members of the Clarkston and greater Atlanta communities I am obsessed with learning more about the Clarkston community. The weekend after fuse I traveled out there to explore the neighborhood. Within two square blocks there are probably 12 different markets. I can only imagine that each market caters to different ethnic groups. I felt like I was overseas again, except I wasn’t sure which country I was visiting. I’m also reading Dave Eggers book What is the What. I’m also having conversations with colleagues on how our students can learn from Clarkston residents.

Terence is the founder of Love Beyond Walls. Terence shared his story with our students and his team also participated in fuse16. I’ve been fascinated by how Terence walks in the shoes of others to better understand their world. He lived on top of a bus for 30 days to raise money to buy a bus that has been transformed into a mobile makeover salon, lived for a week on the streets, and he is preparing to call attention to poverty in this country through MAP16. Terence, and volunteers will be walking 648 miles from Atlanta to Washington D.C. I hope to participate in MAP16 and a group of MVPS students is preparing to promote and recruit participants for the event.

Len and Georgia Morris haven’t spoken to MVPS students…yet. The two are the founders of Media Voices for Children. Meeting Len and Georgia was an added bonus to our trip to Martha’s Vineyard. For over 20 years the two have been on a mission to protect human rights for children. They have documented poverty and human rights abuses in countries around the world (including the U.S.). Len was the 2012 recipient of the Iqbal Masih Award from the U.S. Department of Labor.

“This award recognizes the life’s work of Len Morris in raising public awareness about the plight of working children around the globe,” Ms. Polaski said. “His films and advocacy highlight child labor, hunger in Africa and homeless child laborers.”

While these amazing facilities help me to study how learners use the space, I keep asking myself, “Is the type of use in these libraries different than how are teachers and students will use our new building?” (What I’m about to write actually makes me chuckle.) In general, it appears that students determine how the space will be used. They can work individually or in groups. They can play video games when they want. They can get assistance from librarians or writing tutors on demand or they can use the technology when needed. These spaces don’t seem to be teacher driven or collaboratively driven by teachers and students.

So, if we took over Georgia Tech’s Learning Commons for a week, how would we organize the space? Where would the teachers and students go and how would the space be used? What would the flow of learning by like? These are the questions that I am wrestling with now.

We are planning to convert current classroom space to make it more flexible next year and we are searching for schools who are already experiencing teaching and learning in these flexible spaces. If you’re one of these schools, let’s talk.

For over a year now Mount Vernon Presbyterian School has been working with Trung Le, Christian Long, and Sam Chaltain of Wonder by Design to develop a state of the art Upper School building. It’s been fascinating to watch them in action capture the spirit of our school and how they have translated that spirit into a design for our new building. While the design is still undergoing iterations, there is no doubt that this new facility will require us to reconsider our approach to curriculum and teaching and learning. The Wonder Team introduced us to the design drivers and our community settled on these three.

How might we make school more reflective of real life?

How might we empower all learners to be seekers and explorers?

How might we inspire one another–and the larger world–through the work that we undertake?

The building includes:

Below are several photos of the model that was presented to community members in the fall.

During the curiosity conversations with community members people kept asking, how will our current academic program fit into this building? They also asked, how are you going to prepare faculty for this shift? Along the same lines we keep trying to image what the schedule will be like for teachers and students. What will Mr. Jimenez’s class be doing at 10:00 am on Monday? Will Mr. Jimenez have a class like we know it today? Will Mr. Jimenez and his students be assigned a specific space?

These are all fascinating questions that we are exploring now. Robert Rhodes from Horace Greeley High School, said of their renovation project, “It’s a space, but it’s really a curriculum project.”

As many of you know I joined the Mount Vernon Presbyterian School community this year serving as the Head of the Upper School. Mount Vernon is a school of “inquiry, innovation and impact” and we are redesigning the school experience for our students. So far, the experiences and challenges seem to be just what I was seeking.

Take a look at what I’ve been experiencing these past few weeks. This laundry list will provide you with a taste of what life is like at Mount Vernon.

On September 22 and October 6 Trung Le, Christian Long and the rest of their team from Wonder by Design held Curiosity Conversations around the current prototype of the proposed Upper School building with members of our community.

The current model is nothing like your traditional school building. “Flexibility” was the number one word used by those who participated in the conversation. There are “Inquiry Zones”, “Inquiry Accelerators”, “The Plex”, “The Mobile Action Lab”, and STEM areas. This building represents the school that we want to be and our efforts to create a program that fits the space are continuous.

While the MVAllstars provided our community with a powerful drama around Armenian immigrants to the US, our World History students were conducting interviews of local Armenians to learn more about the their knowledge of the genocide that occurred 100 years ago. Our photography students prepared an exhibit that set the tone as viewers entered the theater and one of our teachers shared his family’s immigration story. This was an excellent example of teams working together to craft the entire experience for theater goers.

Oh, and it’s been so long ago that I almost forgot about having the honor to attend Plywood Presents where we heard from many inspirational problem solvers.

To provide our students with opportunities to travel abroad and within the US we kicked off sign up for our interim trips. Students can chose from trips to Australia, London, Greece, Costa Rica, Seattle, New Orleans, Crystal River, FL, local internships and other local experiences. Plus, our Innovation Diploma students will be visiting the Stanford d.School to work with graduate students on a Future of Food challenge.

More later on our work on improving assessment practices and designing a MVPS Upper School Humanities program.